The state-run Anadolu news agency said 33 soldiers, including a general and two colonels, crossed into Turkey overnight as part of a group of 224 people.

A government official, however, said the group included three colonels and there was no general among them. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, did not know the overall number of defectors and the two accounts could not immediately be reconciled.

The defections came three days after Syria shot down a Turkish aircraft it said had violated its air space, further fraying relations between the two former allies.

Anadolu said the defectors were placed in a refugee camp in Hatay, a province bordering Syria, but there was no further information. Turkey is home to 33,000 Syrians who have crossed the border to find refuge from the 15-month-old violence between rebels and government troops.

Thousands of soldiers have abandoned the Syrian regime, but most up until now have been low-level conscripts. The Free Syrian Army, a loosely linked group of rebel forces, is made up largely of defectors.

Defectors affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and based in Turkey are known to collect food and other supplies to deliver to comrades on smuggling routes.

The government official said another group of about 60 army defectors had crossed into Turkey recently.